


His agma salhaeja

by copperplate



Series: Once we go on ahead [6]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Angst, Canada!, F/M, M/M, Mentions of Ronan and Adam, Multi, Polyamory, Post TRC, Smut, Snark, plot happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-07 22:07:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11068104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/copperplate/pseuds/copperplate
Summary: "Are you watching me sleep?" Gansey asked. There was no accusation in his voice. Just curiosity."I'm always watching you," came Henry's reply.Gansey cracked open his eyes, needing to know if there was a blush on Henry's face, if he looked guilty for getting caught. Of course there wasn't. Just two piercing dark pools, transfixed on Gansey like search lights. Topped by perfectly coiffed hair."Why?"Henry smiled. It almost looked sad."You know why."***Post-TRC  fic about Sarchengsy trying to navigate their relationship (because who said polyamory was easy?). Can be read as a standalone, but conveniently fits with the Once we go on ahead series.





	His agma salhaeja

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! It’s been a while! This fic started with me thinking, “I need more Sarchengsy smut in my life,” but then as is my M.O. turned into PLOT. And then more plot. Like over 15K words of plot. With a side of angst, snark, and then smut thrown in for good measure. Sorry-not-sorry. Enjoy!  
> Unbeta’d. Errors are my own.

 

Richard Campbell Gansey the Third.

The psychics had said many times in his presence that there was power in a name. Then they would give him the side eye meaningfully before Maura would refill his still full cup of tea. Blue would snort and take his hand and lead him away from the overly protective women of 300 Fox Way.

Blue would argue his name spoke of _privilege_. Gansey was starting to hate that word. Probably because it held a truth he hated to face about himself, but had to because he was friends with people like Blue and Adam, people much smarter than him. He couldn't deny his _privilege_ but he also argued it didn't mean _evil_. Gansey was many things, including _privileged_ , but he was definitely not evil.

Gansey often felt his name was misleading. Which is why he had shortened it to just Gansey. One word. Simple. Less prestigious. Unless you knew of a congresswoman who shared the last name as well as Gansey's nose. But most people didn't connect those dots. Especially if they spoke to Gansey and learned he cared less about politics and more about medieval lore and vintage cars.

Gansey wished his name could explain him a bit better. But Gansey was complicated. The thought would make him smile, because honestly, out of all his friends, he was probably the least complicated. Complicated was Ronan: sharp and dangerous and rebellious, but possessing such a gentle soul. Complicated was Adam: the ultimate survivor, brilliant, cold, proud, but also delicately vulnerable. Complicated was Blue: like Ronan, but less sharp and more sensible, but secretly a hopeless romantic (also like Ronan). Then there was Henry: who was most like Gansey, but with more secrets and trauma. Who was better than anyone at masking insecurities and self hatred with a winning smile and a witty joke. Whose inner strength was often overlooked for his whimsy. But Gansey had known Henry long enough now to know that the smiling boy who looked like he was ripped right out of a Kpop group personally knew more murderers, smugglers, and thieves than featured in the Assassin Creed games he loved to play.

As a mental exercise, Gansey would imagine his funeral. He knew it was morbid, but he had been fated to die, twice, so it was a practical concern. He would wonder what his eulogy would be like. Who would deliver it? Gansey would want Adam to, but he knew his parents would never allow it. Probably Helen. She'd be rehearsed, sweet but not sentimental, and photo-op perfect. But she'd be wrong. Because as much as he loved his sister, she didn't know him. Not like Adam, Ronan, Blue, Noah, Henry, not like his real family knew him.

But did they even know him? Because after being brought back to life by Cabeswater, Gansey was suddenly a bit more complicated. Gansey was still himself, but different. No. He had always been different, but now it was more noticeable. Highlighted. Evident. He had always had a charisma that could draw any eye. He just sparingly used it. He had always had a sense of destiny, whether it was the discovery of Glendower, or dying nobly to save his loved ones. He had always experienced time like an old man who had lived a century instead of a decade. It was just part of his "Gansey Charm." But now it wasn't.

In the past, if Gansey had talked a teacher down from calling the cops on Ronan when he had punched Jiang on Aglionby campus (after having dropped out), Adam would have been relieved. But when it actually happened, Adam had possessed a worried furrow between his brows. Ronan used to hoot and laugh when Gansey felt the need to push the Pig's engine to breaking on the barren Virginia roads, but now he would stare down Gansey with a curious tilt of his head first. Blue would hold his hand whenever he would drift off in thought, squeeze his hand hard twice, and if he didn't squeeze once back, she would call his name in worry. The only one who didn't act a bit differently around post-resurrection-take-two Gansey was Henry. And that was because Henry did not know Gansey very well pre-resurrection-take-two. In fact, Gansey noticed that Henry seemed to be enamored by the quirks that suddenly worried his friends. Gansey wasn't sure if he felt pleased or concerned that his "otherness" drew in Henry with the fiercest devotion.

The truth was that Gansey's "otherness" twisted his own feelings about himself. He was still himself. Always himself. He did not feel changed by having the life force of a magical forest gifted to him. He still said the wrong things sometimes and would get a lecture from Blue. He still had the occasional panic attack when he would feel little insect legs crawling on his skin. He still had to put on his President Gansey smile when he was at photo shoots with his family. He still had to reel in Ronan when his temper was getting the best of him (also admittedly less often thanks to Adam being a second voice of reason for Ronan as their relationship flourished). Maybe he simply noticed more when he let his masks slide. He probably was more conscientious of when his words enthralled their targets. Maybe he was starting to accept that he had his own magic after thinking for so long that he was the only one without it.

He liked it. If he was being honest with himself, he liked being magic. He liked seeing events out of time and acting unreserved occasionally and having a voice that demanded attention. He liked being part of a brotherhood that consisted of a man that could pull objects out of dreams, and a man that could commune with ley lines, and a ghost, and a girl who was mirror and amplifier. He liked sometimes closing his eyes and hearing the rustling of leaves and smelling dew and feeling ancient in his young body. He liked that when Blue pillowed her head on his stomach, mirror and amplifier, that he could feel the ley line calling out to him, missing him. No, missing Cabeswater. He wasn't Cabeswater, but in a way he was. Not like Adam. Not like an emissary. More like a kindred spirit. Maybe literally. Maybe since the beginning.  
  
***

Gansey lay in bed in their open studio apartment, letting the thoughts of his identity fuel his insomnia. Spring was in full bloom in New England and exams were finally wrapping up. His body felt relaxed, contrary to his anxiety prone mind. The sheets were cool against his skin, and he had stolen Blue's pillow to press his face to her lingering smell. He was starting to affiliate the smell with home, and that thrilled him in too many ways to count. He felt safe and content and told his brain to stop thinking, just for an hour, just for a nap. Slowly, sleep was taking him. Finally. Finally.

He felt the bed dip near his hip, jostling him out of his dozing. He got a whiff of something fresh and spicy and pleasant. It was familiar in a different way than Blue's smell. Then he remembered it was Thursday. Someone was due home. Someone who had been gone all week. Gansey smiled.

"Are you watching me sleep?" Gansey asked. There was no accusation in his voice. Just curiosity.

"I'm always watching you," came Henry's reply.

Gansey cracked open his eyes, needing to know if there was a blush on Henry's face, if he looked guilty for getting caught. Of course there wasn't. Just two piercing dark pools, transfixed on Gansey like search lights. Topped by perfectly coiffed hair.

"Why?"

Henry smiled. It almost looked sad.

"You know why."

He did. Gansey reached an arm out to him. Henry caught his hand and pressed it to his cheek. He held it there for a moment before letting go with a sigh.

"How was Vancouver?" Gansey asked.

"Meh. My mother sends her regards," Henry replied, pulling the blanket aside and shoving Gansey over with his hip so he can slide into the bed. He was still in his travel clothes, but didn't seem to care. Gansey nodded and turned himself onto his side, mirroring Henry's position so they could look at each other while they talked. "Oh, and get this, Cheng two is engaged."

"Really?" Gansey was genuinely surprised. "When did this happen? To whom?"

Henry shrugged under the blankets. "Childhood friend from the 'Couv, apparently." Gansey smiled. He loved how Henry said "the 'Couv" like it was the common short form of Vancouver (which it wasn't, it was strictly a Henry-ism). "He barely talked about her," Henry continued, "I had no clue they were a thing. Wedding is next summer. I'm a little pissed I'm not his best man. I would have made a great speech."

Gansey smiled. "I don't doubt it."

"Also," and Henry paused here to shuffle something out of the pocket of his tight-fitting jeans. "Ta da!"

Henry held in his open palm a little pin of a Canadian flag. Gansey laughed.

"I got one for each of us. Trust me, no one likes Americans abroad. The fun part is taking bets on where Blue is going to put hers."

"Don't our Virginian accents give us away?" Gansey asked, taking the pin and examining it under the faint light of the sun.

"Not to South Americans. Plus if I hold a camera, they'll assume I'm Japanese. Gotta love stereotypes."

"Or not," Gansey said.

"Or not."

Gansey placed the pin back in Henry's palm, who then pocketed it.

"Where's Bluebell?" he asked.

"Work," Gansey replied around a yawn. "Actually, what time is it? I'm supposed to pick her up at six."

"It's only four. Which poses the question of why are you napping at four in the afternoon?"

"The same reason."

"Still?"

Gansey nodded. He feared his insomnia would never completely go away. His whole life his body resisted rest. How could anyone rest when there was so much work to do. Sleep seemed so inefficient. He was most productive when the world went quiet, when he had the soft breaths of a sleeping Blue as his soundtrack. However, without the Glendower quest the nights felt emptier. He would spend the time making travel plans. Or writing in his journal. Or finishing an assignment. Speaking of which...

"Dammit, I think I have a literature review due tomorrow," he said in a panic, throwing the blankets off himself. As he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, a long-fingered hand clamped around his wrist. Gansey looked over his shoulder at Henry, still tucked in the bed, looking at him with big eyes and a frown.

"Stay with me. Just for a bit."

Henry didn't really plead, but his voice was incredibly sincere. As if Gansey staying in bed with him a bit longer was objectively important to the posterity of the human race.

Gansey let himself fall back onto the soft mattress, inching himself closer to Henry. Henry threw a leg over Gansey's thigh, hooking his knee around to pull him closer. Gansey laughed.

"Needy much?" he teased.

"I haven't seen you in a week," Henry explained, his hand gently passing through Gansey's sleep tossed hair. It almost seemed like he had more to say, but didn't.

"I know. I missed you too." Their noses were only millimeters apart. They stared into each other's eyes for a few heartbeats.

"Will you at least make me your best man?" Henry asked suddenly, his voice almost a whisper. "When you marry Blue?"

The question took Gansey by surprise. He blinked twice at Henry, almost as if he hadn't understood it. Henry rolled his eyes at Gansey's bewildered expression.

"Don't act like you've never thought about it," he chided. "You are a big sappy romantic from a traditional right wing family. Of course you are going to marry her."

"Blue doesn't believe in the institution of mar-"

Gansey was cut off as Henry's hand clamped over Gansey's mouth.

"She'd marry you." He said it so matter-of-factly, Gansey couldn't help but believe him.

Gansey felt his cheeks warm. Because he had thought about it. Marrying Blue. Watching her walk down the aisle. Telling her how she was the reason his third life was worth living in front of all their friends and family. He knew Blue would never go for a traditional wedding like in his fantasies, but he couldn't help envisioning her in a flowing white dress surrounded by deep red roses, breathtakingly beautiful as always. Gansey pulled away Henry's hand, but held it in between their bodies.

"Did Broadway's announcement spur this on?" Gansey asked. He realized he hadn't answered Henry's question, but he needed to know where this was coming from. Because they were too young, too new, and it wasn't right to be thinking about this already. He also knew that despite Henry's reputation for being whimsical, there was always purposeful intentions to Henry's strange trains of thought.

"No," Henry replied with a sigh. "My mother..." he began but stopped.

Gansey squeezed his hand, encouraging him to continue. Henry so rarely talked about his mother, Gansey was genuinely curious.

"She gave me a rough lecture. She doesn't approve of our lifestyle. Doesn't think it's healthy. Doesn't think I'll..." he couldn't finish the sentence without looking away.

"Henry," Gansey said sternly.

"She thinks I should move on and find myself a nice girl to make my wife. Preferably Korean," he added with a grimace. "She thinks I'm an idiot for hoping..." again he faltered. Words were not his forte.

Gansey brought their joint hands to his mouth and placed the lightest of kisses on Henry's knuckles.

"She thinks we are going to leave you behind with a broken heart," Gansey finished for him, perhaps more bluntly than necessary. Henry nodded, still not looking at Gansey.

"Forever the third wheel," Henry offered as further explanation.

"Never," Gansey stated firmly. Henry finally looked up at him. "Never," Gansey said again to send the message home.

"Lies do not become you, Three."

Henry's words were like a punch to Gansey's gut. Henry withdrew suddenly from the bed and stood up with a long slow stretch, his back to Gansey. He still would not meet their eyes. Gansey frowned. He hated when Henry got into these moods of irrational self-pity.

"What is it going to take to convince you that-"

"Am I standing there with you?" Henry interrupted.

"What?"

"When you think about marrying Blue, am I standing there with you?"

Henry turned around, his gaze accusing. "Do you have a ring in your pocket for me on your wedding day?"

Gansey opened his mouth but then quickly shut it. He closed his eyes, the truth tearing his noble intentions apart. Of course Henry was at his wedding. At his side. Smiling. Standing next to Adam and Ronan and even Noah (because it was a fantasy so it was allowed), and sure, he would even ask him to be his best man. But Henry was right. There had only been one ring in his pocket, and it was for Blue. His fated true love.

Gansey deflated. He fell back onto the mattress, covering his face with his hands. He couldn't bring himself to lie to Henry, to say what Henry was desperate to hear. But they were only fantasies, reflecting his traditional right-wing upbringing. They were not a reflection of his heart.

Henry laughed. It was a mocking cackle, and it was self-directed.

"My mother is kinda psychic too, you know," Henry pointed out callously before walking out the door.

"Shit," Gansey groaned, his fingers digging into his scalp. Gansey only swore when he really meant it. And he was definitely in deep shit at the moment.

***

Blue sucked in air through her teeth, her hand hopelessly tucking and errant strand of her black hair behind an ear.

"There are so many things wrong with what you just told me, I don't even know where to begin," she grumbled. They sat idly in the parking lot of the cafe at which Blue worked part time. Gansey had picked Blue up as promised with the most defeated look on his face. Blue had jokingly said, "Did you run over a puppy on the way here, or something?" which had led to Gansey explaining how thoroughly he had put a foot in his mouth with Henry not two hours earlier.

Gansey's forehead rested against the top of the steering wheel, shame turning his ears red.

"What was I supposed to say, Jane?"

Blue sighed. "I don't know. But probably not nothing."

"I didn't want to lie."

"I don't think he wanted you to lie either. But he deserved better than silence."

"I know," Gansey groaned. He turned his head, leaving it pillowed on the steering wheel, to look at Blue with tight eyes. "Did I just ruin everything?"

"Don't be a drama queen," Blue chided, tapping him gently on the nose.

"I feel like I've just ruined everything."

"Henry isn't one to hold a grudge. You know that."

"I do. But how can this relationship go on when he thinks we don't love him like we love each other. When..." Gansey bit his lip.

"He may be right?" Blue supplied sadly.

"Ugh." Gansey pounded his head against the steering wheel, causing the Pig's horn to let out the saddest little beep.

"I always thought it'd be the three of us against the world," Gansey mumbled. "I never really _thought_ about it otherwise. But now I’m thinking about it.”

“Wait,” Blue said, holding a hand up to pause him. “What is ‘it’? We talking about marriage?”

“No. Future. In general.”

“Ugh,” Blue scoffed. “Adulting is hardly something to look forward to.”

“I know,” Gansey sighed. “But I’m thinking about it. About marriage, and mortgage, and kids. I think I want them.”

“Kids?”

“All of them. And I want them with you.”

Blue had to suppress a smile at the directness of Gansey’s words. There was only sincerity there. If it wasn’t so gag-worthy, it would have been sweet.

“And I think…” Gansey continued, a frown pursing in lips as he thought hard about his words. “I think I want them with Henry too. I don’t know. I really haven’t thought about it.”

“And you should stop thinking about it,” Blue warned. “Before you get too ahead of yourself with your ‘plans’, let’s not forget who will be stuck with a uterine parasite for nine months, because it sure as hell won’t be you.”

Gansey smiled. “I would never assume anything. I’m just telling you what I want.”

Blue returned his smile. He was learning.

“And if I don’t want what you want?” she challenged, still smirking.

“Then I still get to be with the love of my life, marriage, mortgage, and kids be damned,” he replied confidently. Blue nodded, pleased. Definitely learning.

“But Henry,” Gansey said, directing them back to the problem at hand. “Do we know what he wants?”

Blue leaned back against the front seat headrest, closing her eyes.

“Sometimes I wonder if we really even know him at all,” she said slowly. She turned her head to Gansey and opened her eyes. “Seriously. Did you know he took like five years of martial arts? He told me last week. He quit because his teacher wanted him to spar and he just didn’t have the stomach for violence, even the controlled kind. And I quote, ‘I’m a black belt at pacifism.’”

Gansey laughed. “You know how he always brags about that one modelling stint he did?”

Blue nodded while rolling her eyes.

“Well, he has a phobia of horses thanks to it. They initially wanted him riding the horse, but he got thrown off, twice, so they just posed him holding the reins. The horse still managed to bite him during the shoot.”

Blue started laughing too.

“He does not have any luck with animals. He swears Chainsaw shits on his car daily.”

“How does he know it’s specifically Chainsaw?” Gansey asked.

“He said he caught Ronan telling her to do it once. Ronan claims it was a joke. But Henry still finds the Fisker vandalized every day.”

They both started giggling.

“He also claims the cats around Litchfield House had conspired to chew holes in his socks,” Blue added, “so he might just be being a bit of a diva.”

“Henry? A diva?” Gansey gasped in mock surprise. “Never!”

Blue and Gansey shared a knowing smile in silence.

"God, we have it bad for the dork," Blue mumbled. Gansey nodded his agreement. "Which means we have to fix this. Which means," and Blue gave Gansey a warning look, "I'm going to go find him, by myself."

Gansey sat up in his seat. "But I-"

"No arguing," Blue said sternly. "He's mad at _you_ right now and he damn better remember that you do not speak for me. I am an innocent bystander. As such, he might be more open to seeing me even when wallowing in self-pity."

Gansey frowned, opened his mouth to argue, but promptly shut it and nodded.

"Good. Any idea where he may be?"

***

Henry's laptop was starting to overheat on his bare thighs. He just couldn't be bothered with pants in his mood. Or he wasn't drunk enough to be bothered. Or sober enough? Inebriated?  Clearheaded? Whatever, language wasn't important. Not when he had a big bucket of ice, Amaretto, and several streaming sites open in his browser.

The banging was getting annoying though. Maybe he was about to get a migraine. No, wait, that banging was coming from _outside_ his head. He pushed his headphones off just to be sure.

_BANG BANG BANG._

Yep, from reality. With a groan, he placed his laptop on the sheets, but decided to take his liquor with him. He quickly touched his hair to ensure every strand was still in place (force of habit, he consciously didn't give two flying fucks what he looked like. Oh god, he really was drunk).

As he stood up, RoboBee buzzed in his face noisily and he had to swat it away.

“Go to sleep for a while,” he told it grumpily, not in the mood to be lectured by a robot that had cheekily designated itself his conscience. RoboBee bobbed twice angrily in his face before disappearing under the bed.

He took a sip of Amaretto for courage and threw the door open. Before him was five feet even of pure fury, staring up at him with her arms crossed.

"Took you long enough," Blue said, an unimpressed eyebrow quirked.

"I was busy," Henry replied with a shrug. He didn't have the energy to fake being pleased to see her.

"Drinking Amaretto while watching anime is not busy," she countered, shouldering past him into the hotel room. He hated how she just knew that. Or maybe loved it. He was suffering through his antonyms today.

Henry closed the door behind her and watched as she did a tour of the room, leaning over the bed to get a glance of his computer screen, shaking her head in disapproval at what she saw. Henry felt compelled to down the rest of his drink and did so with a flourish.

Blue nonchalantly continued to tour the room. When she saw Henry's suitcase, still packed from his return from Vancouver, she smiled.

"I heard you brought the goods," she said, kneeling in front of it.

"They're not in there," Henry said, moving to the bedside table. He needed a refill to survive this.

"Where?" Blue asked greedily.

"In my pant pocket."

Blue eyed Henry up and down. "You do realize you are not wearing any pants, right?"

Henry rolled his eyes. "I'm not that drunk. Not yet."

Blue started searching the room for Henry's discarded jeans until she found them in the bathroom. She emerged a moment later with her fist clenched around the Canadian flag pins.

"I'm keeping all of them," she said bounding on the balls of her feet. "You're going to have to go back to get more for Gansey and yourself, 'cause these ones are all mine."

Henry ignored her in favour of the ice bucket. He took his time deliberately picking the three most perfectly shaped ice cubes.

Blue crept behind him, jingling the pins near his ear.

"I'm thinking making a Canadian themed dress. Use these as buttons. What do you think?"

"Sure." Henry mumbled, making sure the cubes in his glass were not even cracked.

"Oh my god, would you stop being a such a douchebag and look at me!"

Henry placed the glass on the table and turned to face Blue.

"What do you want?" he spat, sick of the pretense. He knew why she was here. "What do you expect from me?"

"To hear _me_ out."

"Fine," Henry collapsed onto the bed. "Talk."

Blue stalked over and pushed his legs aside so she could sit at the foot of it.

"Gansey is an idiot," she began.

"Understatement of the century," Henry grumbled.

"But Gansey was also taken a little off guard."

"If Gansey wants to explain himself to me, he can do it himself," Henry replied.

"True, but if he had been at the door, would you have let him in? Would you have listened?"

"Yes," Henry snapped, sitting up. "Because I am a fucking adult."

"You are literally getting drunk, alone, watching anime in your underwear," Blue countered.

"Yes, and?"

Blue simply glared at Henry. Henry rubbed his eyes.

"Do you really think I am capable of turning Gansey away?" he asked. "Is anyone capable of turning Gansey away? The man is a walking magnum."

"Do you mean magnet?"

"That too."

Blue had to suppress the grin. She forgot how bad Henry's English could get when he was drunk.

"Well, if you are willing to talk," and Blue withdrew a phone from her pocket.

"No!" Henry gasped, stealing the phone right from Blue's fingers in a swift motion. Blue gave him a murderous look. "Look at me. I am in no state for a talk," Henry argued before flopping back down on the bed, dropping the phone next to his laptop. Blue followed him, somehow curling her small form up against Henry's side without falling off the bed.

Blue wrapped her arms around his waist and tucked her head into his armpit. They lay like that for a couple of minutes, Henry staring at the ceiling in eerie silence (eerie for him, who usually couldn't stand silence and had the uncontrollable need to fill it with an inappropriate joke). She knew it was bad when Henry got lost in his own thoughts; they were usually very self-deprecating and judgemental.

"Laptop," she commanded. Henry blinked slowly before he reached across the bed and plopped the laptop onto his stomach. Blue tapped the spacebar and the terrible anime Henry was watching resumed play. There were several instances within the first three minutes that made Blue want to rant about the objectification of women and the sexism still rampant in Japanese culture, but she held her tongue and chose to appreciate that Henry hadn't turned her away. In fact, he felt relaxed next her, his arm having snuck around her shoulders holding her close. Blue looked up at him, his eyelids drooping, his breathing slowing. The poor man could never hold his liquor. She smiled and watched him succumb to sleep within minutes.

Slowly, carefully, she turned off the video and pushed the laptop off Henry's stomach back to the edge of the bed. With effort not to disturb him, she pushed herself up onto an elbow so that she could reach over his body and procure her phone still resting on his other side. Once phone was in hand she quickly tapped a text to Gansey.

_> He's going to be okay_

Almost instantly she got a reply.

_> Does he hate me?_

Blue rolled her eyes. How did she end up with these two princes with the self-esteem of toddlers?

_> Stop being a drama queen._

_> I don't want to lose him._

Blue's heart panged.

_> I know. Me neither._

_> Are you coming home?_

Blue implicitly knew the "you" was plural.

_> Not tonight. He pulled a Henry._

_> Liquor and anime?_

Blue snorted at Gansey's correct deduction, but quickly clamped her hand to her mouth as Henry stirred next to her.

_> Yep. I'll watch him. Get some sleep. I'll drag him to breakfast tomorrow before my shift._

_> I don't want to sleep alone._

Again, Blue's heart contracted painfully in her chest. There was only one adequate response.

_> I love you. I'll see you tomorrow._

_> I love you too._

This time, Blue wasn't sure if the "you" was plural, but she hoped it was. Because Henry had unconsciously left a Gansey-sized space on the other side of his body, and the bed felt empty without their king.

***

"Nnnnngh."

Henry was a principled man. By principle, Henry did not do hangovers. Hangovers were for foolish plebeians and boys who didn't know how homeostasis worked. So despite the bounding headache and a throat made of sandpaper, Henry was definitely not hungover. Definitely not. Okay, maybe a little.

"Water..." he grumbled. The small form next to him had his left arm in a vice as if his limb was her personal body pillow. He was pretty sure there was no circulation in that arm, but the girl was so damn pretty, he could let it slide. However, he really did need some water, and he couldn't exactly leave his arm behind.

"Blueberry," he whispered, although it came out more like a croak. "I need my arm back."

"No, it's my arm now," she mumbled clenching it closer to her warm body.

"I do not recall relinquishing ownership of my left arm to you."

"Well, you should have thought of that before you got wasted on Amaretto. Unfortunately for you, the contract has already been notarized. I am the official documented owner of the left arm of Henry Cheng."

"And what did I get out of this deal?" Henry asked, turning his body towards Blue. She was smiling and rubbing her temple against his bicep like a happy cat.

For answer, Blue stuck out her tongue an licked a long strip from Henry's elbow to his shoulder. He blinked down at her.

"Was that supposed to be sexy? Because that was really gross."

Blue frowned at his arm.

"Agreed. You taste like Shea butter."

"I believe in proper moisturizing regiments and I am not ashamed about it."

Blue smiled. "I want to kiss you, but I think we both have really bad breath right now and we will both regret it."

"Like the arm licking?"

"Yes, like the arm licking."

Henry smiled back.

"I really do need my arm back."

Blue sighed and let his arm go. Henry pulled it out across his body, causing his shoulder to audibly pop. Blue gracefully rolled off the bed, stretching on her tiptoes. She eyed Henry over her shoulder, who was massaging life back into his arm.

"I told Gansey we would meet him for breakfast," she said slowly. "If that's okay with you."

She altered the tone at the end of the sentence, almost turning it into a question.

Henry froze and turned to stare at her.

"Yes, that's okay," he decided. He didn't want to be in a fight with Gansey. He much rather sign a notarized contract granting Gansey ownership of his right arm. His insides still churned uneasily. They were going to talk. He didn't want to, but he knew Gansey well enough to know that he wouldn't sleep until they were "all good". Henry just didn't know how to make it "all good". You can't force someone to be your soul mate. You can't force destiny to make a prophecy of true love include a third participant. You can't wake up one morning and decide it will always be as good as it is now, forever. Because no one can control the future. But more importantly, no one can control Seondeok.

"I shotty the bathroom," he said with forced levity and quickly darted away, closing the door behind him. He chugged water from the tap, scowling at the awful taste in his mouth. He splashed his face and looked at himself in the mirror. His first thought was, _Shit, my hair!_ His second thought was, _Henry Cheng, you look tired._

But if there was one thing Henry Cheng was really good at, it was hiding his shattered pieces. There was nothing a shower, good hair gel, and perfectly cut skinny jeans couldn't fix.

Except a broken heart.

***

Gansey's fingers were twitching, his knees were bobbing, his thumb was kneading his bottom lip like there was no tomorrow.

Restless energy seeped out his pores. He didn't sleep last night. He couldn't alone. Not with Henry hating him, not with Blue having to clean up the mess his stupid mouth had caused.

He wanted them both here, now. He wanted to hold them and kiss them and cling to them. He missed the smell of Henry's hair products and the sound of Blue's laugh. He wanted them like air. Like water. He wanted and wanted and _why were they late?!_

Blue said they would be there for 10:00. It was 10:30. They weren't usually late. No, wait, they were. Henry always took forever to preen, Blue always had to change her outfit three times before she was happy, the only thing that every got them anywhere on time was...

_Me._

Gansey smiled and shook his head. What a strange, functioning unit they had become. He had to fix it. He'd do anything.

The door opened and in they came, arms linked, chatting away as if nothing was wrong, as if Gansey wasn't waiting for over half an hour, fighting off a panic attack that had nothing to do with stinging insects.

Henry looked up and their eyes locked. Henry gave him the slightest of nods, smallest of smiles, and Gansey felt every muscle in his body unwind.

Blue slid into the seat next to Gansey, immediately grabbing his hand and giving it a quick squeeze. Henry took the seat opposite Gansey and immediately picked up the menu there.

"Sorry Dick, but I need something deep fried or covered in butter like yesterday."

"Was it Soho or Amaretto this time?" Gansey asked with a knowing smile.

"Amaretto, and I have no regrets except that I forgot to down a litre of water before bed."

"Awwww, he said litre," Blue cooed. "You can take the boy outta Canada, but..."

"Fuck you backwards Americans and your inability to use the metric system like the rest of the goddamn world," Henry replied, pointing an accusing finger at Blue. Henry looked up to see that the waitress had approached and was staring at him a bit wide eyed.

"Uh, can I take your orders?" she said hesitantly. "Coffees to start?"

"Yes, please," Blue said, clearly trying not to laugh.

"Bacon," Henry said, snapping the menu shut. "And Belgian waffles with all the fixings. But extra bacon."

"Not _Canadian_ bacon?" Blue teased.

Henry gave her the finger. "We civilized people call that shit _ham_."

"We'll still need a few more minutes to decide," Gansey said politely, ignoring his companions. The waitress nodded and quickly went to fetch their coffees. "I can't take you guys anywhere."

"Does that mean you're paying?" Henry asked cheerfully. Blue kicked him under the table. "Ouch! I seriously don't get a freebie today?"

"He can have a freebie," Gansey told Blue. She opened her mouth to argue, but saw the intent on Gansey's face, staring hard at Henry who was staring back, and closed her mouth. There was a silent conversation happening between the two men and she knew better than to try to understand.

"I-" Gansey tried to begin but was immediately cut off by Henry saying, "No, I start."

Gansey tilted his head in concession. Henry took in a deep breath and then began.

"For the longest time, I admired you from afar.” He spoke slowly, his brow furrowed as if putting the words together took extra effort. Gansey wished he had learned Korean, just to make it easier for Henry to express himself, but Blue had astutely told him once it wasn't a language issue. It was a Henry issue.

"I wanted to be you. I wanted to be your friend. I wanted you to simply notice me, talk to me. For years, I was like a desperate fangirl starved for your attention because I had somehow deluded myself into believing it was more valuable than anything my friends could offer me."

The waitress came back, eyeing them while placing their coffees in front of them.

"We'll need a bit more time," Blue told her, and she left. Henry continued.

"When you finally started to let me in, just with a few exchanged words, just with a nod when you passed me in the halls, I thought I was getting blessed by the Pope. I thought I could actually do it, actually be worthy of you. You were so hard to reach. You were so above everyone else, and it didn't help you were always with Ronan and Adam."

"You shouldn't deify people, especially not me," Gansey replied. Henry laughed.

"I know. But I can't help it. Nobody can. You don't know what you do to people."

Gansey looked at Blue, hoping she could explain Henry's words that just did not makes sense to him.

"He's right," Blue agreed with a shrug. "There is something about you. Something compelling. Even I tried really hard to hate you, y'know. But you just... I don't know. Make people want to like you. Love you."

"I'm not doing anything on purpose," Gansey replied with a frown.

"That’s what makes it all the more irresistible," Henry said. "So when you did start to notice me, to trust me, to show me who you really were, what could I do but...but fall. Hard."

Henry bit his lip.

"I fell in love with both of you at that stupid toga party. A part of me knew I was a goner before you had even left. I had to fight hard to not reach out to touch you when you were together, whispering, smiling, like the innocent teenagers that you were. I noticed you didn't kiss her. Not once. Not even when the alcohol and weed was being passed around. And I knew that you were hiding a secret. And the only thing I wanted was to be in on it. To be part of it."

Henry took a sip of his coffee, black, even though he usually preferred it with cream and sugar.

"Your cracks are like mine," he said to Gansey. "You could understand me. You knew what it was like to fall apart and work hard to put the pieces back together. You knew what baggage was even if you were rich and powerful and handsome and loved by everyone. You, in my mind, were perfect for me. I didn't know if I should have been jealous of Blue, but when I got to know her, I couldn't. Because," he turned to Blue, "you are also so perfect for me. Wild and strong and fearless. You stole my breath away. You both were everything I had always wanted and you were together and happy and that was sacred. I would never want to get in the middle of the kind of love you shared. But you invited me in anyway. And you let me be part of your adventure. And you let me love you."

It was here that Henry was starting to run out of words and had to pause. Gansey felt a pressure behind his eyes and he wanted to hold Henry and tell him all the kind and lovely things he deserved to hear, but Henry was not done.

"I am grateful. For every moment you both blessed in my life. And I will cherish every memory we've made. But I also need to make sure I don't overstay my welcome. I don't want to taint what you have. I don't want to drag it down or make it worth less than it should be."

"Henry-" Gansey tried to interrupt but Henry stopped him with a dark look. Henry was a man made for smiling, and the look of pain and disappointment and resignation on his face was just _wrong wrong wrong_.

"Don't patronize me. Don't humor me. Don't anything," he spat. "Let me finish."

Blue placed her hand on Gansey's shoulder when he opened his mouth again and he sat back and listened with a pout.

"I am okay if or when you need to let me go. I know that the rest of our lives still need to happen. I know what my mother expects from me. And it's domesticity and a reputable job, and staying out of her way if I won't be involved in her business. Hell, I may end up building an army of RoboBees for my father, who knows, right?" he added with a hint of humor. "But what we are doing now, it's not forever. You understand, don't you?" he said to Gansey in particular. "The weight of expectations?"

Gansey did. He nodded.

"I envy you," Henry turned to Blue. "Your family of free spirited, unstoppable women who will love and support you no matter what you do with your life. I don't have that. We don't have that," he said, looking back to Gansey. "We are shackled to our heritage, if that makes sense. We are expected to grow up eventually and do right by our names. To my mother, right does not involve what we are doing now. There is only so much more time she will give me before she reigns me in."

"Why do you have to do what your mother says? Why can't you have your own life?" Blue asked earnestly.

"Because I fear her and I love her," Henry replied as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"What about your happiness?" Blue argued.

"I'm expected to honor my family, even at the expense of my happiness. That's just how it is."

"And you?" Blue asked Gansey. "Is that how it is for you?"

"No," Gansey said. "My family may not consider my current lifestyle and choices ideal, but they won't stop me. As long as I am safe and happy, they'll stay out of it."

Henry nodded.

"So there it is. I can't let Seondeok ever feel you two have intervened in her plans. And she has plans for me. And they don't involve this," he circled his finger in the air. "She’s made that clear. And I can't let Seondeok interfere in your happiness. True love is rare enough as it is."

"She already has," Blue growled angrily. "If she is going to take you away from us, she already has!"

"You have each other," Henry explained. "You will always have each other."

"This was never about me or what I said yesterday, was it?" Gansey asked somberly. His face was stone, staring hard at Henry. "When you asked me about how I saw my wedding, you were trying to find an out, weren't you?"

Henry looked at Gansey guiltily. His silence was as good as a confession.

"Did she threaten you?" Gansey asked. "Did she threaten us?"

Henry kept his mouth firmly shut, his gaze unwavering.

"Goddamit! I know you, Henry," Gansey said fiercely. "I know you better than anyone in the world. I know your mother has a tight leash. I know you are a master of self-sabotage. But I also know that we are right. The three of us together is right. And that I will fight for you. I will fight your own damn mother for you if I have to."

"Gansey, please," Henry begged. His eyes told so much more than his mouth. Worry, fear, want, guilt, self-hatred, all in that gaze that wouldn't let Gansey go.

Gansey stared back, fire in his own eyes. This was a man who had made up his mind. This was a man that would tear the world asunder for what he believed in. This was a man who had already died to protect those he loved. It terrified Henry to no end. It made Henry love him a little more.

"I will fight for you," Gansey repeated, in that other voice he had. The voice the broke no argument.

" _We_ will fight for you," Blue clarified, grasping Gansey's hand firmly under the table. Gansey nodded.

Henry rubbed his eyes, trying to catch the tears before the formed and fell. He could hear his mother's voice reverberate in his head. Her condemnation was clear:

_"It's time to embrace your responsibilities. You know your purpose, Henry. You know your place. You are not meant to be with them. Time to let go of those frivolous distractions and get to work."_

That's right. Gansey and Blue were just "frivolous distractions". Just something fun to pass the time. Time to grow up. Just like mother said.

_But I don't want to live without them._

_I can't live without them._

"I'm scared what she will do," Henry gasped, choking back his grief.

"She can't hurt us," Blue said confidently. "We've survived worse."

"But she can hurt me," Henry spat back bitterly.

This took Gansey off guard. As close as Gansey was to Henry, Henry always kept the subject of his mother at a distance. Henry had met the Ganseys on multiple occasions. And dinner with the women of Fox Way had become almost routine. Yet neither Blue nor Gansey had ever been invited to Vancouver to meet Seondeok. Henry would barely mention his family aside from a brief joke, usually making fun of Korean culture or stereotypes. They knew Henry was not keeping them a secret from his family. But sometimes it felt as if Henry was keeping his family a secret from them. Gansey wanted to reassure Henry that his mother would never hurt him. Yet how could he? He didn't know much about Seondeok aside from her being actively involved in the black market of the occult. He didn't know anything about their mother-son relationship. He couldn't tell Henry that his mother loved him, because quite frankly, he didn't _know_.

Gansey felt a wave of anger course through him. The thought of a parent willingly hurting their own child made him sick. He had to witness it almost daily with Adam, and it killed him, not to mention almost ruined their friendship on multiple occasions when Adam repeatedly spurned his offers to help. Thankfully Adam, warrior and survivor, pulled through on his own terms. But Adam was a creature forged in darkness, made stronger for it, and thus had to learn how to be loved the hard way.

Henry was a creature of light. Gentle, warm, well-intentioned if not a bit naïve, with nothing but love to offer the world. When you plunge a creature like Henry into darkness you get invisible scars that don't heal. You get panic attacks and phobias and nights of silence and tears. You get a broken man who hides his insecurities in poorly timed jokes and a fake smile that tears his face apart.

Henry was not made to endure cruelty.

Gansey was not made to allow cruelty to exist.

Blue slid out of her seat, made her way around the table and wrapped her arms around Henry. Henry was biting his lip hard, fighting back the emotions ripping him apart. Blue kissed his cheek before pressing their temples together and just holding him. Gansey watched, memorizing the portrait of the two most important people in his world. He would do anything for them.

"I want to talk to her," Gansey said suddenly. The others looked at Gansey questioningly. "I want to talk to Seondeok." Henry's eyes widened. He looked horrified.

"Not wise, Three," Henry cautioned. "She be a dragon-lady. A man-eater. She'll tear you apart."

"No, she won't," Gansey refuted sternly. "There is nothing she could possibly say to make me stop loving you. To make me not fight for you. Nothing."

"And what do you have to say to her?" Henry asked.

"‘Fuck off’ would be a good start," Blue grumbled, tightening her arms around Henry.

"I want her to see what kind of people we are. I want her to realize our feelings are genuine. And that we aren't going anywhere."

"She may disown me," Henry warned. "She may force me to pick."

"And if she does?" Gansey challenged.

Henry bowed his head. "I honestly don't know," his voice cracked. "She's my mother. I love her. I'm trying to convince myself she has my best interest at heart. But sometimes even I'm not certain that's true."

"And us?" Blue asked. Henry turned his head to her so he could place a gentle peck on her lips.

"I know you care for me," he said. "I can't bear to be a source of misery for you. I thought it would be better to let you go then to put you through this. I thought we'd have more time first, before I had to make that decision."

"You don't get to make that decision," Gansey interjected.

"Don't I?"

"No," Blue said, coming back around Henry to take her place next to her king. "Hell no."

"You’re ours, remember?" Gansey added with a smile. "And we're yours."

Those words made Henry remember a conversation he had had with Adam years before. Henry had once asked Adam why he had never moved into Monmouth. It seemed absolutely insane to Henry to have had been offered such a coveted invitation and turn it down. Henry was never privy to the details of Adam's emancipation from his parents, but he had the gist of it. Yet Henry couldn't reconcile that someone as intelligent as Adam Parrish willingly chose to stay in an abusive trailer trash home instead of live in the whimsical utopia Gansey had created through his pure eccentricity.

Yet, Adam’s answer did take Henry by surprise.

"In retrospect, I should have," Adam had conceded. "But my pride wouldn't let me."

"Pride?" Henry asked.

"I didn't want a saviour," Adam had explained. "I didn't want to become a damsel in distress. I didn't want Gansey to see me that way. He has this complex about the people he loves. He needs to save them."

Henry had nodded. He had experienced it firsthand himself. He had seen Gansey willingly die to stop Ronan being unmade. To stop the demon.

"Once Gansey claims you," Adam had continued, "he can be a bit...possessive. I refuse to be owned."

"Gansey isn't like that," Henry had argued. "He doesn't see people that way."

"Hmmm, maybe I'm simplifying it." Adam paused a moment, putting his thoughts together before explaining further. "Perhaps a better metaphor would be to say Gansey is a curator of his own little world. He finds treasures, quests, and people, and he collects them and keeps them close. He lives for them and takes pride in them, so much so he wants to share them with the world, wants the world to experience the awe and adoration he experiences. It's how he saw Glendower. And how he sees us. We are treasured. But by being treasured, we are coveted. And by being coveted, there is an implied sense of ownership."

Henry had been silenced. It was a strangely brilliant and apt explanation of Gansey. It was something only Adam could have conceived.

"We're like the Pikachu to his Ash," Henry had added sagely. Adam blinked at Henry, bewildered, before shaking his head.

"Christ, Cheng, really?"

Henry's terrible pop culture reference aside, it was all true. At the end of the day, they were a partnership just as much as they were treasures just as much as they were friends or lovers.

Which meant Gansey and Blue were right. It was not only Henry's decision to make, despite his intentions being noble and selfless, despite the self-harm he was causing by attempting to make this decision for them.

Henry returned the smile to the pair, nodding his resignation. He didn’t want to talk about this anymore. He just wanted to be happy. If just for one more day before his mother took it all away.

“Can I have my waffles now?”

***

_“Turn right in 50 metres.”_

Gansey glanced down at the GPS app on his phone. The rental car was small and so quiet compared to the Pig, but it was easy to manoeuvre on the inclined, narrow streets.

The address Gansey had whittled out of Mr. Gray seemed to be in a mountainous suburbia, a bridge separating the area from downtown Vancouver proper. He had to admit, the view was spectacular: waterfront to the left, the Rockies to the right, a sprawling city in between. Gansey made a mental note that a Canadian road trip was going to be on the agenda for next summer.

The houses in this current neighbourhood were an eclectic mix of modern and ancient. It was a beautiful and warm summer day, and children were playing together in one of the yards he passed as he turned his car onto his destined street.

_“Your final destination will be on your left.”_

Gansey pulled the car to the side of the road and stared at the target house. He was a little underwhelmed to be completely honest.

The house looked like it may have been built in the 80s or 70s. It was wood paneled, three stories if you included the attic, and a dark red in colour with a deep brown wooden balcony. It looked…quaint. The garden was clearly well maintained, as there were flowers sprouting from little boxes on the window sills. It was very picturesque and middle class. Gansey couldn’t imagine such a place being Henry’s home. Then again, he didn’t know whether or not this was actually Henry’s home. This could just be a front where Seondeok did her business. Again, unexpected, but perhaps when you dabble with dark magical objects, unexpected is the key to survival.

Gansey got out of the car, tucked the keys into his pocket, and crossed the street to approach the front door. He could still hear the laughter of the playing children nearby, yet his nerves were on fire. He was about to meet a mob queen. But more importantly, he was about to meet Henry’s mother.

He skipped up the four steps to the front door, took a deep breath, and rang the door bell. Then he waited.

He hadn’t told Blue or Henry about this impromptu visit. After their conversation over breakfast, Gansey had become incapable of rest or sleep, and he would continue to be plagued with a painful restlessness until he knew Henry wouldn’t be yanked from his life forever by Seondeok. He had fought his anxiety for three days before he could take it no longer and haphazardly bought the plane ticket for when Blue would be working and Henry would have darted back to California to finish his exams.

The door creaked open a crack and a small black eye looked up at him from the other side. Gansey put on his most brilliant smile. It must have helped as the door creaked open even further to reveal a tiny Asian woman, staring up at him bewildered.

The woman couldn’t have been taller than Blue, her hair was pulled back in a bun and a flower bandana kept loose strands from her face. She looked to be in her fifties or sixties, and was likely a true beauty in her youth. She wore a smock around her waist, a loose button up shirt (also in a floral pattern), and capris that looked maybe two sizes too big for her. But what made Gansey smile wider was that she was wearing boat shoes that were a similar style to his own.

“Hello,” he said hesitantly. The woman didn’t react, but continued to stare up at him, wide-eyed and silent. She might have been the housekeeper based on her attire and demeanour.

“Um… is Seondeok home?” he asked.

The woman let her eyes roam over Gansey from head to toe suspiciously before she sucked in air through her teeth and pulled the door fully open. She then turned her back on Gansey, walking away, but leaving the door open. He took that as an invitation and followed her in, pushing it closed behind him.

Gansey was led to a sitting room that was immaculately clean. He immediately saw why as the woman picked up a broom and continued sweeping around the area.

“Should I just wait here?” Gansey asked. The woman ignored him, kneeling down with the dust pan to collect her sweepings. “Right…will do, then.”

Gansey sat down on the loveseat, also floral patterned. Everywhere he looked, there seemed to be flowers: painted on the curtains, a fresh bouquet on the mantle above the small fireplace, patterned on the carpet beneath his feet. Yet the décor felt very homey, like a country cottage. It was easy to forget he was on the outskirts of a metropolitan.

The woman had already moved on to grabbing a mop and was scrubbing the wooden floorboards clean. He watched her work in silence. That was what was off putting: aside from the old woman’s labours, the house was very silent. Each of her movements were slow and deliberate, and Gansey felt almost meditative watching her work her menial tasks.

Gansey wasn’t sure how long he watched her clean, but at one point the woman had pulled a chair from elsewhere and was trying to dust above a bookcase that lined the wall. Despite the chair, she was still struggling to reach the back corners due to her height (or lack thereof). The woman kept reaching and reaching, to the point she was teetering on the chair, and Gansey was concerned she was about to take a tumble. Fearing for her safety, he stood up and strode over to the housekeeper.

“Here, let me get it,” he said, placing one hand on the woman’s back to stabilize her balance. He offered her his other hand to help her off the chair. She looked at him quizzically before she let him lead her down. Gansey plucked the duster from her hand, stepped onto the chair, and gave the top of the shelving a good feathering.

Once he was done he stepped down from the chair and turned to the woman, who had her arms crossed in front of her chest, and a considering look on her face. It was that look that made Gansey realize his mistake.

He offered her the feather duster and said a bit embarrassed, “You’re Seondeok, aren’t you?”

The woman merely raised a brow before she replied in a thick gravely accent, “And you’re Richard Campbell Gansey the Third.”

Gansey didn’t know what he was expecting upon meeting Seondeok. A fierce woman in a power suit and stilettos, maybe. Or a mysterious woman wearing shawls and glittering jewels, smoking a pipe. But a tiny woman coming to the end of middle age doing spring cleaning in a charming little suburban home was not it. Seondeok was, for all intents and purposes, well… kind of adorable.

“Nice to finally meet you,” Gansey said, politely offering his hand. Seondeok looked down at his hand, then back at Gansey’s earnest face and turned away from him and started heading out of the room. Gansey felt himself deflate. They were not off to a good start.

“Would you like some tea?” she asked from over her shoulder, tilting her head slightly to hint she should be followed.

Seondeok led Gansey to a kitchen. It had an old school gas burning stove, which Seondeok turned on and lit with a barbeque lighter. She then took a beat up looking kettle to the sink, filled it with water, and placed it on the dancing blue flames.

“Sit,” Seondeok ordered without even looking at Gansey as she withdrew two mismatched mugs from a cupboard. Gansey pulled a chair from the tiny kitchen table and sat, watching Seondeok sniff three different tea canisters before she found the one she wanted. She nodded approval and then took the seat opposite Gansey, folded her hands on the table, and stared at him, waiting.

Gansey realized he was expected to speak first, so he began the speech he had rehearsed over and over in his head during the long flight to B.C.

“I’m not sure how much you know about Henry, Blue, and I-”

“Too much,” Seondeok snorted, interrupting, but then waved Gansey on to continue.

“Well, Henry is very important to me. To both of us. I know you have doubts about our relationship, and I know you have your own plans about Henry’s future, but-”

“Are you really that self-centered?” Seondeok interjected again.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I know why you are here, agma salhaeja,” she said with a sigh. Gansey had no idea what she had just called him, but he was certain it wasn’t nice. “I’m sure Henry has passed on to you my thoughts on your… _relationship_.” She almost had to spit out the word. “But has it ever occurred to you that you aren’t the only person with a destiny?”

Gansey measured Seondeok for a moment.

“I’m starting to believe less and less in destiny,” he replied honestly. “As someone who has been destined to die, twice, and is still standing, I’m doubting such a word has meaning.”

“That’s foolish,” Seondeok spat back. “Your life doesn’t mean destiny got it wrong. But your deaths do mean that destiny got it right.”

Gansey didn’t quite know how to combat that logic.

“Destiny speaks to us in different ways,” Seondeok continued. “It speaks to me in waking dreams and intuition. It speaks to you through the whispers of leaves.”

Gansey did not know if she was making an allusion to Cabeswater, but it would be eerie if she was.

“Destiny speaks to Henry too. He is just too thick skulled to hear it,” she finished.

“And what does destiny say to Henry?” Gansey asked skeptically.

“Greatness. A tune not different than your own.”

It was here that Seondeok stopped the conversation to finish making the tea. When she returned to the table, she placed an aromatic steaming cup in front of Gansey.

“My son,” she continued, “gets easily distracted.”

That was very true.

“He wants to save the world. And he needs to micromanage everything. Then as soon as you wave a new shining cause in front of his face, he forgets the twelve other noble campaigns he is fighting for to dive headfirst into the new one. His heart is in the right place, but he forgets he is only human.”

Seondeok blew on her tea and took a tentative sip. Gansey figured it would be polite to drink his, despite a voice in the back of his head warning him it could easily be poisoned.

“Henry doesn’t realize how destiny has already claimed him. You, on the other hand, have danced with destiny and know where you stand, do you not?”

“I’ve survived some impossible things, but I don’t claim to know what my future holds.”

“Oh, nonsense!” Seondeok snapped. “You hear the leaves. They speak to you. They remind you that you are agma salhaeja.”

Those words again, they gave Gansey a shiver down his spine.

“You reek of your forest,” Seondeok said, waving her hand in front of her nose dramatically. “You are tied to something ancient and powerful and dangerous. When I look at you with my third eye, I see upon your head a crown of vines and thorns. A raven sits on your shoulder and whispers council to you. You hold a golden chalice in one hand and the sign of infinity in the other. Death looms behind you, waiting and wanting, but dares not approach again. So don’t you come into my home and tell me lies. You know quite well what destiny you bear.”

The shiver was now a cold sweat. Gansey felt like a very important premonition had just been disclosed to him, but he couldn’t be bothered to dissect Seondeok’s words just yet. He had come here with a purpose, and he would not be distracted.

“My destiny doesn’t matter if Henry isn’t there with me,” he said sternly. “He saved me, you know. Many times.”

“He would,” Seondeok agreed affably. “He likes to play the hero. But with you, he would be no hero. Your light shines so bright, Henry would be your shadow. Kings only succeed when there is one of them, never two.”

Gansey was getting annoyed. Seondeok was talking in metaphors and Gansey did not like metaphors.

“I don’t understand. Are you trying to say I’m holding him back? Because you don’t know your son at all if you think I could ever stop him from doing anything he puts his mind to.”

“Another lie,” Seondeok growled, her eyes flashing. “Kings command. It is their right to.”

“I have no right to tell anyone what to do,” Gansey refuted.

“Yet you came here to do just that. To tell me to give up my son to you,” Seondeok pointed out.

“I was hoping just to talk. Maybe see eye-to-eye. So that Henry wouldn’t be torn apart feeling he’d have to choose between us. But I can’t tell you what to do. I can’t tell Henry what to do, either.”

“But you _can_ ,” she said meaningfully.

Gansey froze. Again, he wasn’t sure if she was alluding to his other voice. The voice that can wake the dead and banish demons. But how could she know?

“You understand now, boy?” Seondeok asked with a smirk. “Kings _command_.”

“I won’t use that,” Gansey said defensively. “I hate doing that to people. It’s not right. And I would never ever do that to Henry.”

“Hmph,” she scoffed, taking another sip of tea. “Were you going to use it on me, perhaps? To change my mind?”

Frankly, Gansey had thought about it.

“No,” he sighed, and he knew it was the truth. “But do you know why?”

Seondeok tilted her head, waiting.

“Because Henry would never forgive me if I did. Because what Henry thinks of me matters to me. And you are his mother and he loves you enough to try to push me away just to appease you. You have a very loyal son. But I don’t want to watch his loyalty to you break his heart.”

“ _You_ would break his heart,” she accused angrily.

“Never!” he said. And without conscious intention, he said it in his other voice. Which made the statement fact. Undisputable.

Seondeok’s head snapped up, her eyes wide. The small kitchen almost reverberated in the aftershock the sound. Gansey felt his cheeks flush.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“No,” Seondeok replied, shaking her head. “You see how foolish you are?”

“But I mean what I said,” Gansey fought back. “I would _never_ intentionally hurt Henry. I would never leave him. And that’s why I’m here. To fight for him. To show you I mean it.”

“What about the girl?” Seondeok asked coyly.

“What about the girl?”

“Your soulmate. She is tied to you by the string of fate. Henry is not. Does she not care Henry is tangled now with you both?”

“Blue loves him as much as I do.”

“Are you sure? Are you sure she isn’t humouring your stupid fantasy? Does she even know you are here?” she asked knowingly.

Gansey had to swallow. He had not told Blue or Henry about his visit with Seondeok because he knew Henry would try to stop him and he knew Blue would want to come with him and Gansey did not want this little personal mission to end with either of them getting hurt.

“If she knew I was here,” Gansey said slowly, “she would be here too, by my side, fighting for him.” That was also the truth. He was certain.

“Foolish, the both of you!”

“Love makes us all foolish. It can’t be helped.”

“Hmph!”

Seondeok stood and walked to the kitchen window to stare out at the backyard. Gansey took another sip of the tea (which really was quite good… if not poisoned), letting Seondeok gather her thoughts.

“Henry,” she finally said, still not looking at Gansey, “is too soft for my line of work.”

Gansey was not entirely sure what Seondeok’s line of work entailed aside from finding and selling magical items, but if Mr. Gray’s lifestyle was anything to go by, he agreed. Henry was not made to be a contractor of killers and thieves.

“He would not survive my business. He may survive his father’s. But business is not what Henry wants to do.”

She finally turned to Gansey, her face looking sad.

“I once chose business over love for my son. I don’t think he has ever truly forgiven me. I don’t think I deserve to ever be forgiven. It changed both of us, and our relationship. It showed me my weakness, but also his strength. Had the roles been reversed, my son would have chosen love. Without hesitation. He gets that from his father,” she added fondly.

Seondeok approached Gansey and took her seat opposite him once again.

“I believe you when you say you will not try to control him. And I believe you when you say you love him. But I do not believe you understand how you are an obstacle to him and his potential.”

Gansey held his tongue, waiting for the punchline.

“My son resents me enough for what I put him through as a boy. I will not have him resent me for taking love away from him as a man.”

Gansey’s eyes lit up. A smile cracked his face. Had he done it? Had he won her over?

“However,” Seondeok quickly added, seeing the hope on Gansey’s face, “when Henry realizes his own destiny, you will not stand in his way.”

“Of course not,” Gansey quickly agreed.

“Even if it means leaving _you_ with a broken heart.”

Gansey felt like he had just been slapped.

“It won’t come to that,” he said defiantly.

“You cannot decide that,” Seondeok pointed out. “If there comes a time when your love holds my son back, I will intervene. If you hurt my son, you will never see him again. I have failed to protect my son once, and I will not fail again. Do you understand?”

Gansey nodded soberly.

“Good. Now finish your tea so you can help me tackle the basement. I have some heavy boxes that won’t move themselves.”

***

_Blue: > Ugh, Tom is a no show again, I’ll be home late._

_Blue: > Hey where are you?_

_Henry: > Just aced microeconomics, baby!_

_Blue: > No seriously, where the hell are you?_

_Henry: > I’m coming back tomorrow morning. DOBBY IS FREEEEEEE!_

_Blue: > I will totally call a search party if you don’t reply soon._

_Henry: > Yo, got a text from Queen B that you are MIA. What gives?_

_Blue: > YOU ASSHAT!_

_Blue: > BUSTED! As if I don’t know how to look up your credit card history!_

_Blue: > Vancouver? Seriously?_

_Blue: > Does Henry know?_

_Blue: > Henry doesn’t know…_

_Henry: > WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, DICK!!!!_

Gansey kneaded his lip as he sat in the back of the taxi reading all his missed texts. He hadn’t even gotten to the eleven voicemails yet, and was likely not going to before he got home. He knew they would forgive him. Especially when he told them the good news. He wouldn’t say he left with Seondeok’s blessing, but he would say she was going to leave them alone. Probably. Jeez, that woman was hard to read.

Gansey paid the taxi driver and gazed up at their apartment. The light was on, which was both a good and bad sign. Honestly, he would have liked a shower before Blue tore him a new one, but what could he do?

He quietly climbed up the stairs, his overnight bag casually slung over the shoulder. He pulled out his keys and stared at them. Henry had given him a Pusheen key-chain and he still wasn’t quite sure what the deal was with the cat, but he smiled at it every time he saw it, so it must have been doing its job.

Gansey unlocked the door and walked into the apartment. The tv was on, but the living room was empty. Gansey peered around the corner. There wasn’t a single dirty dish in the kitchen sink, which meant Henry was here already. Gansey had been surprised to discover Henry’s compulsive tendencies in keeping a clean kitchen, despite the state of his bedroom usually being in disarray.

“It’s where we make _food_ ,” he had said emphatically. “No one under my roof is getting campylobacter.”

Blue was usually more blasé about cleaning, and had she been here alone, there would have been at least of few used yogurt bowls waiting for a scrub.

Gansey smiled at himself. It had been hard having Henry at Stanford all year. He was looking forward to a summer with all three of them together again. He hoped they would forgive him quickly for sneaking away.

He dropped his bag by the foot of the couch and made his way to the bedroom. The door was open and he peered inside.

Blue and Henry were in various states of undress on the bed: Blue in nothing but her bra and underwear and Henry shirtless but still wearing his jeans. Blue was straddling Henry’s lap who was sitting at the edge of the bed. They were making out quite fiercely, and it looked like they were on the cusp of doing a lot more than kissing.

Gansey felt something hot and impulsive course through him and he darted into the room.

“Hey!” they both exclaimed in synch as Gansey yanked Blue from Henry’s lap as if she weighed nothing. He spun her in a circle before pinning her against the far wall. Henry’s brain seemed to need a moment to catch up as his arms hung suspended in the air where Blue’s body used to be.

“You!” she spat angrily, poking Gansey in the chest, hard. “You are in such deep sh-”

Gansey smashed his mouth against hers, so happy to see her to care little about her wrath. She pushed him away, naturally even more furious.

“How _dare_ you!” she gasped. “In what universe is it okay for you to just _disappear_?”

Gansey leaned into her, a smile on his face, his eyes bright and alive. He didn’t tower over her as much as Adam and Ronan did, but enough to need to lean his head down to whisper in her ear.

“I won,” he said, his breath tickling her.

“What?” she huffed back.

Gansey pulled away a bit to look into her eyes, but remained still close enough to keep his voice out of Henry’s earshot.

“Seondeok,” was all he added, his grin proud and predatory.

Blue looked over Gansey’s shoulder at Henry, half undressed and staring at them quizzically.

“You son of a bitch,” she gasped, her eyes darting between the two men as comprehension settled upon her. Gansey nodded happily, before pressing himself to her again and putting her lips to better use than swearing at him.

“Hey!” Henry shouted again, looking both like a child robbed of his candy and confused at their whispering. “What the hell?”

Blue and Gansey ignored him, taking a private moment of relief in each other’s mouths. Blue hopped up, hooking her legs around Gansey’s waist, using the wall at her back to help support her. Gansey sighed contently, savouring her taste (and what he assumed was also her forgiveness).

“Should you tell him or should I?” he asked her between mingled breaths.

“Richard Campbell Gansey the Third, that was very rude,” Henry called from the bed, his arms now folded across his chest. Gansey had to suppress a laugh knowing now where Henry had learned the mannerism.

Gansey gently let Blue down, slowly turning to see the boy that was the root of all this fussing. Henry was staring hard at them, his eyes slits. Blue leaned against Gansey, holding his hand and smiling wickedly.

“Do I not even get a hello?” he asked sarcastically.

“Hello, Cheng. How were your exams?” Gansey answered politely.

“If you had checked your phone over the last twenty-four hours, you would know that I thoroughly slayed them.”

Gansey nodded his approval.

“How was Vancouver?” Henry shot back with a dangerous flash in his eyes.

“Beautiful,” Gansey answered coyly. “Really, quite breath-taking. We should go travelling around the area sometime. Hike the Rockies. Bike along the beaches.”

“Visit family?” Henry added suggestively.

“Sure,” Gansey replied, unfazed. “I know this lovely little house on the mountain. Great garden. The owner makes the best tea. No offense, Jane, but the Fox Way ladies could learn a thing or two from her.”

“Well,” Henry sniffed, trying to act nonchalant by examining his nails. “Considering you are back in one piece, I assume mother didn’t castrate you.”

Gansey chuckled. “Your mother is actually very cute.”

“Don’t even, Three!” Henry warned, pointing a dangerous finger at him. “You do not put the words cute and Seondeok in the same sentence.”

“I just tell it like it is,” Gansey shrugged. Blue rolled her eyes.

“As much as I adore your bantering,” she interjected, sounding bored, “can we get to the point?”

“Yes, the point!” Gansey exclaimed excitedly, swinging Blue’s clasped hand in his. “Mother-dear may have had some second thoughts on wanting us to break up.”

“Does she?” Henry said, skeptically.

“So long as we don’t get in the way of your profoundly important destiny, yes.”

“My what, now?”

Gansey laughed and pulled Blue behind him to the bed. He let go of her hand and leaned over Henry, who still was glaring up at him.

“Your unstoppable, unshakeable, world changing destiny, Henry,” he repeated.

“I am concerned that you may have sampled too much of B.C.’s internationally reputable cannabis during your travels,” Henry replied dryly.

“Shucks! I knew I forgot something!”

“Did you really just say ‘shucks’?” Blue teased Gansey in disbelief.

Instead of replying further, Gansey dived down to take Henry’s lips. Henry hummed angrily at first, but it only took a second before he sighed into the kiss. He let Gansey dart his tongue into his mouth for a moment before pulling away.

“But seriously, did you really do it?” Henry asked anxiously, dropping all pretenses of sassiness. “Did she really give you her blessing?”

“Insofar as Seondeok gives a blessing, I’d say so,” he replied smugly. Henry stared hard at Gansey, battling internally if he could accept such impossibly good news.

“All right, good enough for me!” Henry said finally, and surged up to grasp Gansey’s mouth again.

Gansey felt his heart clench in his chest. It was part relief and part triumph and a whole lot of love and adoration for this man that had become the piece of himself he had been missing. Gansey then felt another hand twine his hair gently and he sighed contently into Henry’s lips as Blue pressed a kiss to his temple and then to Henry’s.

“Love,” she said to Gansey, or Henry, or both of them, “I believe I was here first,”

Henry looked at her and nodded. “She’s right, she was here first.”

“Begging your pardon,” Gansey bowed, shifting his body from leaning over Henry to scooting behind him on the bed. He pulled Henry back to settle between his legs, Henry’s back resting against his chest. Gansey held him close, dipping his head down to brush his nose into the crook of Henry’s neck. He loved Henry’s smell. Sweet like a dessert. But spicy and still masculine. Like cardamom and honey and Shea butter. It contrasted perfectly with Blue’s lighter flowery scent.

“Comfortable?” Blue asked teasingly, again not very clearly to whom. But she took that moment to lean over Henry and use her daft fingers to undo his belt and zip down his fly.

Gansey smiled as he felt Henry’s breath pick up against him.

“Hips up,” Blue ordered. Henry leaned more into Gansey to lift his hips so Blue could remove his jeans and briefs. He now sat naked in between Gansey’s thighs, a flush creeping down his chest, his cock half hard in anticipation.

Blue tossed Henry’s clothing to the floor unceremoniously and went to the bedside table. While Gansey happily continued to mouth Henry’s neck, she took out a condom and held it gently between her teeth as she divested herself of her underwear.

Slowly, like a hunting cat, she crawled up Henry’s legs, sitting on his thighs to place the condom on his hardening cock. Gansey sucked hard onto his shoulder, causing Henry to gasp.

“You make sure he doesn’t go anywhere,” Blue ordered Gansey.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, pulling away to quickly unzip his own khakis. Gansey realized he was still fully dressed and in no position to take off his clothes without completely dislodging Henry (which he had no intention of doing), so he would have to make due with scooting his clothing down. He let his right hand tug himself in his open pants, while his left arm still gripped Henry close to him. Blue used this opportunity to position herself above Henry’s hips, and slowly lowered herself to allow Henry to enter her.

Henry moaned, thrusting up into Blue, Gansey still gripping him tight while giving his own member a squeeze.

Gansey rubbed his nose to the back of Henry’s neck. He quickly darted out his tongue for another taste. A slight hint of Henry’s salty sweat danced on his tongue, heightening the spice and sweet. It was an addictive nectar and Gansey fisted himself tighter and nuzzled his face into Henry’s neck harder.

Gansey could feel Henry’s body rocking against his lap as Blue rode him, his panting picking up. A hand snaked behind Gansey’s neck, strong fingers digging into his skull. It was Henry, reaching behind him for more contact. Gansey glanced up, over Henry’s shoulders and he caught Blue’s gaze. She smiled and tossed her head back, giving Gansey a tantalizing stretched view of her body, her breasts, her neck. Gansey licked his lips. These two were going to kill him.

“Mmmm, Blue,” Henry groaned, his eyes watching her bob up and down, taking him deep and enthusiastically. Blue leaned forward again and pressed her tongue into Henry’s mouth. His hand, still tangled in Gansey’s hair, tightened.

Blue pulled back, also panting, and leaned around Henry’s cheek to give and equally filthy kiss to Gansey.

“Not feeling neglected back there?” she asked, two fingers reaching out to gently caress Gansey’s cheek. He tilted his head into her touch and followed her fingers as they withdrew.

“No,” Henry answered for him. He then wiggled himself against Gansey suggestively. “Too much clothes!” he complained. “I want to feel you against me.”

“Oh?”

Gansey understood, and his body singed with the prospect. He wiggled his pants and briefs down as much as he could, letting his dick spring free. Henry responded by inching himself back against Gansey, getting closer and closer. Gansey thrusted against Henry’s back, the friction creating electric motes of pleasure that coiled at the base of his spine.

“Yes,” Gansey gasped, picking up a rhythm against Henry’s smooth, sleek skin. He needed more, licking a stripe up Henry’s shoulder blade, his thumb catching Henry’s nipple in a caress.

Henry responded by matching Gansey’s rhythm as he thrust into Blue. The three of them became like one breathing organism, their bodies moving with the meditative flow of inspiration and expiration.

Henry’s head fell forward, his mouth seeking out one of Blue’s breasts. Gansey’s hand wandered, grasping Blue’s bent thigh. Henry’s other hand slid off Gansey’s neck to knot his fingers with the hand clasping his chest. They needed to touch each other more, all over. They needed to stay connected. They were a current. The were a ley line.

“Ours…” Gansey purred into Henry’s skin, his knuckles going white around Henry’s fingers.

“Ours,” Blue agreed around a moan, her hands holding the back of Henry’s neck as he mouthed her nipple.

“You guys…” Henry gasped against Blue’s skin, his body coiling tighter. “I need…”

Henry swallowed, the words getting lodged in his throat, his body thrumming with love and pleasure and heat.

“It’s too much,” he choked out, pressing his face to Blue’s chest, his rhythm getting more desperate.

“Let it out,” Blue cooed, holding him to her, moving with him.

“My love,” Gansey breathed, feeling himself close to the edge, feeling the strange energy between them vibrating more and more desperately. Feeling leaves caress his skin.

Henry moaned, his hips pushing up and up, his abs twitching as his climax took him. Gansey reached back between their bodies, grabbing his cock to give himself the few extra strokes needed to reach his own organism, feeding off Henry’s release. There was something pleasing and inexplicably intimate in watching his seed smear on Henry’s lower back, to feel Henry’s vulnerable shaking in between his thighs.

Blue was also panting hard, still hugging Henry to her breasts, placing gentle kisses on his temple and forehead as he rode out his aftershocks. Gansey watched them, mesmerized. At their beauty, at their love, at their presence. His heart swelled. They were his.

Afterwards, they climbed into the shower together, passing soapy cloths and pressing sloppy kisses on each other’s bodies. They hip-chucked each other playfully as they brushed their teeth. Henry insisted they share his Shea butter lotion. Blue insisted Henry refrain from putting product in his hair so she could caress the silky strands once they were curled in their bed. Gansey kept Henry spooned between them, his arms still wrapped around him. He never wanted to let go.

Gansey still had insomnia. He’d always have insomnia. But it was bearable when he can listen to Blue’s soft, sleepy breaths, feel the warmth of their bodies tucked under light cotton sheets. He could stay awake and be content in the darkness and the quiet with them there.

Until the little pervasive thoughts would show up. Until his anxiety prone, questing mind would start asking questions. There were still lots of questions.

“Hey Henry?” Gansey nudged Henry’s hip with his own as he whispered into his ear.

“Mmm?” he replied, eyes still shut as satiated rest tried to take him.

“What does ‘agma salhaeja’ mean?”

Henry’s eyes opened and he turned to look at Gansey over his shoulder.

“Demon killer,” he answered slowly, some concern in his expression.

“Ah,” Gansey said. He was honestly expecting something ruder or insulting. The fact that Seondeok had first thought to refer to him as a demon killer was an interesting fact to be examined and dissected. As well as her strange vision of him…

Henry turned around completely to face Gansey. As if sensing Gansey’s racing thoughts, Henry wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in to pillow his head in the crook of his neck.

“Sleepy time, Gansey Boy,” he mumbled, kissing his forehead once. “Sleep.”

Henry’s words were barely coherent, but they filled Gansey with calm.

He was right. It could wait until the morning.

***

Henry sat in the park sipping his non-fat, double foam, soy, caramel latte. He closed his eyes and let the sun beat on his face. He knew his pale complexion would not appreciate the exposure and his vanity created a healthy fear of the sun lest he get wrinkles, but today it just felt so good. He just felt happy.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He didn’t have to check the display to know who was calling. He had been expecting this. He was ready for it.

“Hi mother,” he said merrily, breathing in the scent of freshly mowed grass. His mother replied in Korean.

“Hello. How are you?”

“I,” Henry said, still speaking in English because he damn well felt like it, “am doing quite well. Enjoying a sunny day in the park. You?”

“I am at the office,” his mother stubbornly replied in Korean. It was a game they played, to see who would break language first. Or maybe it was all in Henry’s head and he subconsciously did it as a tiny act of rebellion.

“How dreary. All work and no play makes mom a grumpy girl.”

“Unexpected visits from her son’s friends makes mom a grumpy girl,” Seondeok retorted sharply.

“Ah, yes, I have been made aware. Sorry about that. I swear, I didn’t even give him your address.”

“Oh? Who did?”

Henry had a good idea who, but Henry was no snitch.

“No idea,” he lied.

“Well, at least the boy didn’t come to me at work. He dropped by the house on West 25th avenue.”

“Not the penthouse? Too bad, I think he would have gotten a kick out of the penthouse,” Henry replied. His mother cleared her throat unamused. “I know, I know, I am not to bring guests without permission. Again, sorry. I did not know he was going to do that.”

“That boy is a bit reckless,” Seondeok berated.

“You should meet Ronan,” Henry suggested.

“Who?”

Henry had to swallow the laughter at his own joke. “No one, mother dear. I will make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“Did he tell you what we spoke about?”

“Briefly.”

Henry felt his cheeks heat up. The sex afterwards was the bigger highlight in Henry’s memory.

“He nor the girl is to interfere with your future.”

“Right, Gansey did mention something-something about destiny.”

“I am being very serious right now.”

Henry flinched. His mother’s cold, calm voice did indeed mean she was being serious.

“Understood, mother.”

“You will finish school with good grades. You will get a good job. You will do important work. If not, you will be brought home and you will work for you father. Or worse, for me.”

Seondeok knew that to Henry such words were a threat.

“You know I have my own ambitions. No one will stray me from that path.”

His mother snorted. “You can’t be President,” she rebuked, very familiar with Henry’s rants about fixing America. “You aren’t an American citizen.”

“Fine, Prime Minister. I’ll settle for Prime Minister.”

“Really, your eyes may be bigger than your stomach.” Despite the harsh words, Henry could tell his mother was pleased. Seondeok couldn’t fault her children for having implausible ambitions. Not after she had twisted her own life from simple housewife to feared underworld mob boss.

“I’m just that selfless,” Henry deadpanned. “I would suffer years of sitting in parliament just to help my people.”

“Ha,” his mother mocked dryly. “Well, as long as that stays the same, you can keep your strange little affair with the psychic’s daughter and the congresswoman’s son.”

“Don’t you mean my ‘agma salhaeja’?” Henry asked with a mischievous smirk.

“Hmph,” his mother grunted. “Yes. More reason to be careful around them. Hunting monsters can be addictive. I would know.”

“Your warning has been taken with the utmost consideration.”

“See that it does.” There was silence on the line a moment, causing Henry to almost wonder if she had hanged up on him. Until, “When you come visit later this summer, bring them.”

Henry’s mouth fell open in shock and he almost dropped his coffee. His first instinct was that he had misheard his mother completely.

“What?”

“Bring them. This summer,” she repeated.

“Are you sure?” he asked cautiously.

“Yes. I want to meet the girl. And the boy was amusing, if foolish. I will meet them both. You can even bring them to the penthouse.”

“Of course, mom,” Henry said, his heart picking up speed. “Will do.”

“Goodbye, Henry.”

“Bye, mother.”

Henry slipped the phone back into his pocket as his pulse ran a mile a minute. Gansey was right: that was as much of a blessing as Seondeok was going to give. He had never been more terrified for what this turn of events may mean. He had never been more happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! And sitting through all my shameless Canada plugs hehe.


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